The Daughter of Apollo
by MidgleyMacbeth
Summary: Sophie Clemson has been plagued with nightmares since as long as she can remember, but she never thought that they would mean anything. After one fateful day, Sophie and her best (and only) friend Yasmine find themselves plunged into the world of monsters and myths. Only original characters (e.g, Sophie) belong to me, the rest goes to Rick Riordan!
1. Chapter 1

**Well, here it is! The first chapter, and I really hope you enjoy it! If you pick up any errors of any kind, don't hesitate to let me know! Though, please don't take this as an opportunity to be rude. I will also be posting this on Wattpad, so you can read on there too. If you enjoy this story, please follow and/or favourite so that you never miss an update! That's all for now, enjoy the chapter!**

 **\- MidgleyMacbeth.**

 **Chapter One - The dream.**

Prologue –

Ever since I was small, I mean smaller, I always had a sneaking suspicion that I wasn't who I was supposed to be. Who was I supposed to be? Sophie Clemson, daughter of Louis and Adam Clemson. I was the straight-forward, down to earth kind of daughter. Ma always said that I was so honest, I wouldn't tell I lie to save my life. She turned out to be right, well, sort of. I have never looked like either of my parents, but that's probably because my defining features are always changing. No kidding! Apparently, when I was born, my eyes were a colour that could remind you of copper and someone else of bronze. Now they are grey. It's the same with my hair, used to be black and now it's a shade of light brown. Now you can see why I always knew I was different. My other features have never changed though. I have always been short and petite, with long legs compared to others of my height. I have skinny arms and high cheekbones, a pointed nose with a splash of uneven freckles covering it.

Right now, I'm thirteen. Life is alright, I mean, I haven't died yet, so that's good. Living in this place is mundane, every day is the same. With only one good friend, I don't do the fun things other kids my age do. But that's probably because no one is nice to me. Since I'm the shy, tentative kid in school, I'm an easy target for bullies. It's not like I can have fun anyway, I don't have anything that interests me. No real hobbies. Anyway, enough about me. Where was I? Oh! The main supporting evidence for my suspicion was my dreams, because they've always been nightmares. Plus, I've always had this recurring dream, ever since I can remember.

It goes like this…

 _I start off observing the scene, like I'm watching the movie, not actually apart of the action… No, it feels more like I'm being suspended in place, not in control of myself or my actions. I hear a voice come from behind me, a deep and rumbling voice that would send shivers down anyone's spine._

 _"_ _Let that one go. It can do nothing now. We have the real threat; Apollo's kin! Without it, the demi-gods are powerless against us." Says the voice. I feel myself regain control of my body and I drop to the ground._

 _"_ _So…phie. Run…" Says another voice, this one is weak and broken. Now in control, I swivel my head in the direction of the fading voice… to find a fading person. Or rather, people. Up, about two metres above me, were three teenagers chained to three identical stone pillars. "Get… to the… h-hunters."_

 _With that, I start running as fast as my short legs could take me. The world whizzes by as I zoom into an open desert. All around me, the ground is cracked from lack of moisture and there's not a plant to be seen. The heat is really starting to set in. However, I don't care about the raging sun attacking my neck, or the pain in my chest and ankles that strike with every step. I don't care about any of that. All I care about is getting away. Away from them. Does this make me a coward? I think. Why am I running? That's right, I need to get to the hunters. I abruptly stop has I feel my stomach lurch. I try to suppress the urge to cough, but I fail. I swiftly bring my hand up to cover my mouth, something I do from muscle memory. The cough is more violent and painful than I'd thought. Why I didn't collapse right there and then is past me. I'm about to start running when something stops me, a suffocating feeling that starts from my feet and rises like water to my head, until I feel like I'm drowning. I know straight away what this means._

 _"_ _NO!" I scream, my eyes wide with fear, in the direction of the pillars. This can't be happening, it just can't be! But I know my wishful thinking won't help them. I need to keep going… but I can't. Everything in me freezes as my ears ring with the sound of shill, piercing cry. A death cry._

Present Day –

I woke up, my sweat-coated hair sticking to my face. I rolled to my side and hugged my pillow tight. I've been having these dreams since as long as I could remember. _I'm almost thirteen now, when is it going to stop? Will it always be like this?_ My watch read 5:00. At least I woke up when I was supposed to this time. I force myself out of bed, thinking that maybe I wouldn't have to hide my bags with makeup today. I went over to my small, oval mirror which hung on the inside of my wardrobe. My pillow fell out of my hand as I gasped in surprise. There were scratches up and down my arms. Scratches that weren't there yesterday. This was _definitely_ not normal.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – No one comes to my band-aid.**

 **Warning; There are mentions of suicide in this chapter.**

Before entering the school gates, I did all I could to cover the scratches. But all I could do was very little. Seeing as its summer, I'd get detention if I wore long sleeves at school. And the last thing I needed is more trouble. I had already been expelled from several schools, and this is the last chance I get before being sent to one of the cheap public schools in my area. Trust me, no one except the juvenile kids wanted to go to those places. I would just have to keep my head down and hope that no one would notice the many band-aids covering my arms.

My first class was Math, which was easy but really boring. The classroom was at the opposite end of the school and for once I didn't have to run to make it there on time. _Maybe I'll catch up with Yasmine along the way? Her classroom isn't too far from mine._ No such luck. I made it to class a full five minutes before it started, which normally would be a good thing, since I had extra time to finish homework. But not today. Today there was others waiting outside the classroom… waiting for me. _Oh no._ I thought, desperately trying to leave unnoticed, _Not today of all days!_

"Oi! You there! Yeah, you!" One of the boys from the group shouted at me. I groaned and turned slowly, I couldn't run since class was starting soon. I hurried to hide my arms behind my back, but I was too late. A girl from the group, with a face full of overdone makeup and pink high-lights in her hair, spotted my band-aid and immediately started pointing and whispering with her friends. The others noticed and the boy who had called out to me, Bradley Alan was his name, made his way over to me, strutting in his normal posh-boy fashion.

"Oh, Clemson. Why, oh why, are there band-aids covering your arms?" Bradley Alan sneered. I rolled my eyes, even though I knew no one in my school called others by their first names, unless they were friends. It was pretty silly, as we were all only thirteen and it seemed like a thing only grown-ups did. But, I had to go along with it, the last thing I wanted was for the bullies to think I was trying to be their friend.

"That's none of your concern, Alan!" I told him forcefully, in my head I was begging him to leave it be. I froze up when I realised what I had just done. Slowly moving my head upwards, I peered at him from behind my hair. His angry figure was towering over my small one. His hair, as black as ink, had been gelled back to show his devilish face. All the girls found him handsome, except Yasmine and I. We knew what he really was – a beast. And now, I had just angered that beast. _Crap._

"What did you just say to me?" Bradley Alan sneered, his words long and drawn out. All the girls in his group backed away, knowing what was going to happen next. The boys in his group gathered together, probably taking bets on how long it would take for me to cry. I silently cursed myself. I should've just kept my mouth shut, but as always, I forgot to think. And now I had to face the consequences. Bradley Alan grabbed my navy-blue bag from where is was slung on my shoulder and chucked it to the boys. They immediately started digging through it and I thanked the heavens that I had time to go to my locker and drop off all of my valuables. Bradley grabbed me by my arms, his fingers digging into a couple of the scratches, making them bleed more and me wince. He saw this and grinned in some sick delight.

"I see why you're all scratched up now, Clemson." He smirked, leaning in closer but talking louder so that his so-called friends could hear. I tried my best to lean away, but he had already raised me on to the tips of my toes. "You couldn't take it, could you? You wanted to end it all? Kill yourself? Is that it? Hmmmm?"

I shuddered at his proximity and kept my mouth shut. The next thing I knew, Bradley Alan had thrown me to the ground and ordered his friends to return my bag.

"We don't need to be seen around people like you, suicidal freak." He spat and then swaggered off with his gang. I sighed in relief. Honestly, this encounter had gone rather well in comparison to our other 'lovely' meetings. My watch told me class was going to start in one minute, so I quickly stood up, dusted myself off and picked up my things, all while ignoring the disgusted look my classmates gave me.

I was the first one through the door when the teacher, Mr. Jones, opened it. Straight away, he noticed my arms and gave me a questioning look. I sighed as I sat down at my desk. _This is going to be a long day._

After Math, I had English, and then after that was Health Education. Health was one of the only classes I had with my best and only friend – Yasmine. Yasmine was strong willed and musical, and she would've been popular too, if she hadn't chosen to be friends with me. She would always tell me that she'd rather have me as her only friend than have a handful of fake ones. I still get confused, she could've had such a better school life if I wasn't her friend.

Yasmine will probably go places as well, she's got an incredible voice that makes you feel all warm inside when you hear her sing. She's got soft, sort-of pudgy cheeks that go well with her long, straight nose. Her eyes were the shape and colour of almonds, and she had dead-straight black hair. No one else at school has seen her hair though, since her religion keeps a scarf hiding her raven hair. It's not like anyone cared about what she looked like without the scarf, as soon as she declared our friendship, everyone stopped caring about her. But I'm glad she made that sacrifice. She's a wonderful person and friend and she's the reason I've made it through high school so far. I look up to her a lot, but then again, I look up to everyone, being the shortest in my year.

Time seemed to go by at the pace of a snail in English. I'm not going to say much about it because there isn't much to say. Finally, I made it to Health. I let out a long, breathy sigh of relief as I eased my sore behind into my seat. Thankfully, we could choose who we sat next to and Yasmine and I instantly paired up.

I looked up to see Yasmine entering the classroom, gliding along like a graceful bird, like she does when she's not upset. She sat down next to me and frowned at my scratched and newly-bruised arms.

"What's up?" Yasmine asked, her melodic voice filled with concern.

"Let's just say… it's been a very long and tiring day. And it isn't even recess yet!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Foe… or friend?**

 **A/N – So I know this story is kind of starting off slow, but bear with me, it'll pick up soon.**

We had managed to make it through the day without any more run-ins with Bradley Alan or his gang. Well… up until lunch. Yasmine and I had met up at our usual spot after another three draining periods of being apart. We had decided when we first became friends that where we sat had to be a complete secret from anyone else in the school, to eat in peace. It had worked so far, so we became quite confident that we couldn't be found. Imagine our surprise when someone discovered us. We were sitting and eating, like any normal day, when one of Bradley Alan's friends strolled into our hidden area. He glanced over at us and, surprisingly, neither a smirk nor a look of distaste appeared on his face.

"Clemson. Alan." He said in greeting. I was very surprised, this was the first time someone from my school, apart from Yasmine, had regarded me in an almost-friendly way. I almost felt bad for not knowing his name. Almost. This boy seemed to forget all about being friendly when he saw the look on Yasmine's face. He tried to turn and run, but it was too late. In one swift leap, Yasmine had already had him pinned to the ground. I sat there, helpless.

"If you even _think_ about telling my brother…" Yasmine left the conclusion of her cold threat up to the boy's imagination, which terrified him even more.

This is probably where I should mention that Yasmine is a twin. And her twin is none other than, you guessed it, Bradley Alan. Yasmine's full name was Yasmine Roquaya Alan, and she was the exact opposite of her brother.

"I-I won't! I wasn't even thinking about it when I saw you two!" The boy stuttered. I studied his face hard, trying to remember who he was. He had curly hair that was almost as orange as a carrot, dark blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean. He wore a sports cap and pants, even though both were against the rules. I was sure that I had seen him before… but where? _This is so frustrating!_ I caught the boy looking at me funny, as if he were asking for my help. No one ever asked for my help. For some reason, this one look of his really moved me.

"U-uh, Yasmine, you can get off him now…" I muttered in Yasmine's direction, but she wouldn't've heard. That was me, scared of speaking out against anyone, not even my best friend. He was still pinned down by her, it looked painful. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. _I can do this._

"Yasmine!" I said in a somewhat demanding voice, a little louder than I intended. Yasmine's head abruptly turned to me, causing me to jump. "You, uh, can let him go. He said he wouldn't say anything."

To my surprise and relief, Yasmine complied. She was a normally stubborn person, it seemed impossible for her to give something up so quickly. As much as I admired Yasmine, sometimes she could be rather scary, it was times like these that you could see the resemblance between her and Bradley.

"Class is about to start anyway. We don't want to be late." I told her, with a little more confidence this time. Her only response was a grunt, before picking up her bag and gliding silently off. The boy got up and shot me a grateful smile. I started to shuffle past him, but he grabbed my arm, his fingers slightly digging in to one of my band-aids. I tried to hide my wince, but by I should've known by now that I was terrible at hiding things.

"Oh, sorry." The boy told me sincerely, "You have Science next, right?"

I nodded, too taken aback to respond with words. Apologising was one thing but taking interest in where I'm going was on a completely new level. _What is his plan?_ I wondered, _what does he want from me?_ I had already decided that he was up to something. I needed to be careful.

"Cool!" He exclaimed, completely oblivious to what I was thinking. "I'm pretty sure I've got that subject with you. Do you want to walk there together?" The invitation surprised me so much that I actually jumped.

"W-what?!" I stuttered. I must've heard him wrong. Surely, he wouldn't want to be seen with _me._ He gave me an inquisitive look, his orange curls covering his eyes.

"I said, would you like to walk to class together?" He repeated patiently. I frowned, thinking about it. This dude was in Bradley's gang, meaning being seen with him could both help _and_ hurt. If he had an ulterior motive, going with him would obviously be a bad idea. But, by going with him, it could gain me some respect and a little more peace in class. I sighed.

"Ok."

"I'm home!" I called out to my parents as I walked through my oak front door. My house had a rather simple layout. My family wasn't necessarily poor, but we weren't rolling in cash either. There was the hallway, which ran split the house in two, until it reached our small living room. On the right, was my parents room and the kitchen. To the left, there was my room, the laundry and the bathroom. Normally, both of my parents were home when I got back from school. I assumed that today would be no exception. I found my mother, Louis Clemson, in her bedroom, tapping away at the old family computer.

"Hi, Ma." I greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. Ma shared my high cheekbones and soft lips, in fact, if it were not for my hair and eyes, I'd be a spitting image of her. "What'cha doing?"

"Hi, my duckling." She returned my greeting, calling me by my embarrassing pet name. "How was school?"

"Er… It was alright. I think I made another friend, but I'm not too sure." I answered, purposefully ignoring the fact that she ignored my question. Ma turned in her chair to face me, a look of interest inhabiting her face. My Ma didn't know about what I went through at school. If she had, she would've wanted me to move schools, and I didn't want that. Yasmine was the first good friend I had ever made, I didn't want to leave her alone. Plus, telling Ma this would just add to all the stress she's been under lately, being unemployed and all.

"Hmm? A new friend? My lil' duckling is growing up!" Ma wiped away a fake tear, making me giggle and push her arm playfully. This was a mistake. The movement of my arm drew her attention to it. More rather, the band-aids and bruises on my arm. Her face went pale. _Oh no._

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	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – An Exchange of Lies. (Sorry for Short Chapter)**

 _How am I going to get out of this one?_ I wondered while my Ma gave me her best 'tell me what's going on' glare. It might not sound intimidating, but trust me, it was. I backed away a little, preparing myself for what was the biggest lie I had ever told.

"Look, Ma, it's not what you think." I told her, my voice calm but my palms sweaty as I held out my hands in front of myself, trying to calm her. "I just tripped and fell on my way to school today. The teachers and kids at school were really great about, really! See, they even gave me these band-aids!"

I was almost amazed that I was capable of telling so much lies at once. I bit the inside of my lip, trying to stop it from quivering. My Ma would _definitely not_ fall for that, she was too smart. I hoped to whoever was watching that she'd just leave it alone, let me go to sleep and relive the same stuff at school tomorrow. I had already accepted that that was how it was going to be, Ma getting involved would challenge all my attempts at normalcy. I did not want that to happen. I held my breath, wondering what the woman in front of me would do.

"Ok." She sighed, reaching up to hold my hands gently in her own. "I believe you, duckling."

I almost fell to the ground with relief. "Thank you, Ma." I said, trying hard not to look or feel guilty of fibbing to my trusting mother. "Now, is Pa home?" Ma frowned, like she had bad news to tell me.

"He's – uh - going on a business trip and won't be home for a couple of days." Ma told me, I narrowed my eyes. _Is she… lying to me?_ Ma smiled like she was trying to hide something. _Yep, she is lying to me._ I wondered what was going on. "But never mind that, dinner will be here in about ten minutes, finish up your homework until then, 'kay?"

"Ok." I smiled. I practically ran to my room, wondering how the hell I was able to get away with that. Pa going away always meant that we'd be eating take out for dinner, which was always something to look forward to. The rest of the night went on as planned, I did my homework and ate dinner with Ma. I went to bed wondering what on Earth Ma was keeping from me. The thought was bugging me until I fell asleep…

 _And started running._

I went back to school the next day, feeling the same as I always did; tired due to my normal lack of sleep, excited to see Yasmine and dreading being bullied. The feelings were so repetitive that they honestly bored me. Every day there was the same. Nothing changed. That is, until I felt something different, just as I entered the locker area. It was like a tingle on the back of my neck, telling me that something was wrong. That I was being watched.

 _I need to find Yasmine._ I thought. If something was wrong, my friend was my top priority. I racked my brain for where she might be at this time in the morning. _She won't be in front of class, she hates just sitting around and waiting._ That was one option down. _She's definitely not in the library, not after that incident with Bradley and his crew._ The incident being one of the times Bradley tried to pick on me and Yasmine stood against her own twin to protect me. _That only leaves one option…_ And I started running.

I earned a few weird looks on the way there, but I didn't care. I've been through too much to care anymore. It was a few minutes later that I reached the spot, panting and wheezing. The feeling seemed to be getting more intense by the second. _Get out of here,_ it told me, _Run while you can._ This was really frightening me. Normally if I got a feeling like this, I would just dismiss it as paranoia. But this is different. This is worse.

The first thing I noticed when I got to Yasmine's normal hide-y hole, was that there was no Yasmine to be seen. Second was that her bag was on the ground, a few zips opens, leaning against the brick wall of the school's entrance sign. Yasmine wouldn't just leave her stuff like this, there were too many thieves in our school. Something was _definitely_ wrong.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – Warning; Invasive Voices and Heavy Backpacks Often Result in Confusion.**

I started hyperventilating. What could have happened? Yasmine would never leave her stuff unattended like that, she was protective over anything she owned. Where would she have gone off to in such a hurry that she forgot her stuff? _Surely, nothing can be that urgent,_ I thought. Oh, how wrong I was. I decided that wherever Yasmine was, she wouldn't want someone to steal her things, so I quickly zipped up her bag and picked it up with a heave. _Man, this thing is heavy._

"Ok," I sighed to myself, "Now to find her."

I started walking cautiously around the school, the tingling feeling (that still hadn't disappeared) seemed to intensify by the second. It was funny, because no one else seemed to notice it. Was it just me? If so, how come? I kept an eye out for anyone that seemed to be feeling this sense of dread to. Maybe they would know what it was? Or what was causing it?

 _Run while you can…_ The thought was seeping into my mind, _forget your friends and save yourself…_ No! I wasn't going to do that, not after everything that Yasmine had done for me. I kept repeating these stubborn thoughts in my head, an attempt of drowning out that horrible voice, completely oblivious to the fact that the voice had said _friends_ , with a plural.

 _You know you want to…_ The voice continued, _wouldn't it be so much easier if you did?_ No! No, it would be so, so, so much worse.

 _If you run now, you will live your life in peace…_ NO! I didn't even know what this danger was, but I did know that I wasn't going to let Yasmine fall victim to it. At some point, amongst all the running I was doing, I decided that I would even fight this beast myself.

 _Come on…_ The chilling voice seemed to whine, _do it, I dare you…_ For the last time, N-

"NO!" I stopped running. Another voice was ringing in my ears, this one aloud. My breath hitched, had I just yelled that? No… that wasn't my voice. The other voice belonged to someone else, a boy perhaps. I looked around desperately, searching the crowd that now stood still with me. And we all looked at him. Even though he was facing away from me, I still recognised him. No one could forget that orange curly hair so easily.

I studied my kind-of-friend closely. He was on his own and holding his head tightly, he seemed traumatised, yet he still kept walking at a brisk pace. I didn't know for sure that he was hearing this creepy voice too, but I was far from being concerned if I was called crazy. I ran as fast as I could towards this boy, well, as fast as I could while lugging two backpacks. I tenderly put my hand on his shoulder, trying to slow him down a little. The reaction I got was not one I was expecting.

As soon as my hand came into contact with his shoulder, he flinched so hard it made me flinch too. He then turned so quickly that I stumbled back a little in surprise. His expression was frantic, his dark blue eyes wide and desperate. I put my hands up where he could see them, a class and cliché sign of surrender. His once frantic eyes softened when he realised it was me.

"S-sophie?" He mumbled, stopping and facing me fully. "Can you…. Hear it too?"

"Yeah, I can." I reply quietly, taking him gently by the shoulder, trying to direct him away from the prying eyes of the flamboyant students. "I don't know why, but it's trying to get me to run away."

"Really?" He whispered over his shoulders, sweat obvious on his face. "It's trying to get me to let it kill you and the others." With that one quiet, scared sentence, it seemed like my insides were being squeezed by an iron fist.

"Me? The others? Who are the others?" I asked quickly, the tingles on the back of my neck felt more like pin pricks. I knew that soon, they'd feel like knives.

"No time." He told me, "Just follow me!" The sudden urgency, which replaced his old tone of tiredness, surprised me. He grabbed my arm, leading me away silently.

After a rushed minute of jogging through hallways, twisting and turning, we came to a classroom that I hadn't thought existed. This was surprising, since I basically knew every inch of that place. The boy, whom I still didn't know the name of, plunged his other hand into his pocket. He pulled out a small, grey, rusted key, and preceded to fumble at the lock, while I doubled over, exhausted. His other hand, which was still clasped around my arm, tightened. I winced and moved to take the key from his shaking hand. He pretty much shoved me inside the classroom after I opened the door.

"Ow." I yelped, trying and failing to regain my balance. I went down, arms flailing around, mentally preparing myself for impact. But it didn't come. Instead of feeling the ground smash into my face, I felt warm arms wrap around my waist, securing me into a slanted position, my face just inches away from the ground. I released a shaky breath, trying to stop my heart from racing. My light brown hair surrounded my face and brushed against the ground, and I was thankful as it hid the shock on my face. Whoever the strong arms belonged to started lifting me, and two heavy bags, upwards, until my feet were happily planted on the ground. I turned my head around to see who had saved me and was so shocked with the answer that I almost fell again. It was Bradley Alan!

"W-what? Uh… why?" My words stumbled out, my confusion evident through the way my mouth was agape. In the next few seconds of silence, I decided that I probably shouldn't have questioned him, I didn't want to be pushed over or punched. I gritted my teeth. "Ah, I mean… thank you."

"Yeah. Whatever." He gritted out, his ears a little red with anger. I backed away a bit, I had already experienced _way_ too much today to deal with this. I clasped my hands together behind my back, something I used to do when I was nervous or uncomfortable.

"Oh, sorry Sophie!" The red-haired boy hurriedly apologised while I slid mine and Yasmine's bags of my shoulders. I had almost forgotten that he was there. He was standing in front of the door, his back facing Bradley and I, constantly leaning over to peek through a window.

"Ryland!" Bradley yelled at the boy desperately, I could tell from his voice that he was confused. I realised that the red-haired boy's name must have been Ryland, _that's strangely suiting._ "What, exactly, is going on?" For some reason, it comforted me knowing that I wasn't the only one in the dark.

"No time!" Ryland shook his head frantically, "I have to go find Yasmine and get you all out! Lock the door behind me and don't open it for anyone!" With that, he flung the door open and launched himself out of the room.

"What…" I started meekly, reaching my hand out to where the frantic boy just was. "the heck?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Trapped.**

We spent around ten minutes in that old classroom, in total silence. It felt like forever. We just sat there, a good three metres between us. I got more restless with each passing second, my hands clasping tighter and tighter. In a desperate effort for something to do, I scanned the old classroom. There was barely any light entering the room, only few rays of light entered through cracks in the dusty, faded metallic-blue curtains which covered the windows. Flimsy, plastic chairs had been stacked into two piles in the back right corner of the dark classroom. There was a lack of desks in the abandoned room, maybe they had been taken out to be put to better use. The carpet was a patchwork of different faded patterns and colours.

The most overwhelming feature of the dim room was the unbearable sense of confinement. Every brick, every square of carpet, chair, curtain seemed to give off an essence of misery and entrapment. There was no doubt about it, I _had_ to get out.

I had to make a conscious effort to force my hands apart. I slowly stood up, my legs shaking.

"What are you doing?" Bradley asked, his face and voice completely void of emotion. He wasn't looking at me, but straight in front of him, towards the door.

"I can't just _sit around_!" I exclaimed a little frantically, my hands subconsciously trying to clasp together again. Bradley would never believe me if I told him the main reason of my escaping the room, so I settled with the other, equally important, reason. "It's been ages, and he's not back yet! What's more, we have no idea what on earth is going on outside! Aren't you at least a little bit anxious? Or bothered?"

"Yeah, kinda." He replied stoically, turning his head to allow his almost-black eyes to meet mine. His strong jaw was slightly clenched.

"Well, think what you want, I'm going out there." I announced, walking towards the door determinedly. If I was going to escape this wretched room, I figured I might as well make use of being outside. I reached towards the handle, thankful that my arm wasn't shaking. _I can do this,_ I reassured myself, _just go out there and find Ryland and Yasmine._ To be perfectly honest, my plan had several flaws in it. For one, I had absolutely no idea where either Ryland or Yasmine were. And the fact that that mysterious evil was still out there hadn't crossed my mind yet. But, being young and reckless, I had made my choice, and damn the consequences. With my left hand clutched determinedly in a fist, slowly turned the handle with my right, ready to leave this prison-like classroom. I started to open the door when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Wait!" I turned sharply, to find that Bradley had gotten up and was now towering over me. I looked up at him, the slight ache in my neck an unwanted reminder of my height. "I.. I'll come with you."

I didn't have enough time to be shocked, so I simply nodded and walked out of the classroom, Bradley following close behind.

Class had started half an hour ago, so we stuck to places we couldn't easily be seen to avoid suspicion. To my surprise, when I peeked through one of the many windows, I found that my classmates had seemingly no idea about the danger Ryland was so frantic to protect us from. _What, exactly, is going on?_

The two of us were basically going in blind, we didn't know where the others were, or even what the danger was. We were just walking around, with no idea where we should go or what we should do. In fact, if we hadn't heard the yells and screams, we would've wandered aimlessly all day.

It was about twenty minutes after we had left the classroom, and we had found nothing. When we were almost finished our second lap of the school, Bradley head suddenly snapped up and faced to the left. His whole body was rigid and on alert. Something was up.

"D-did you hear that...?" Bradley asked quietly, as if he didn't want to raise his voice in fear he wouldn't be able to hear whatever he had heard.

"Hear what?" I replied, just as quietly.

"I heard… It sounded like Yasmine." He turned to face me, his eyes wide with fear for his sister. I gulped.

"W-what was she saying?" I frantically whispered.

"I don't know, I just heard her yell." Bradley whispered back. He seemed scared.

"Which direction did it come from?" I inquired desperately, trying to snap him out of his fear. "Maybe it can lead us to her."

"Yes," Bradley swallowed, "Let's go!"

With that, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to our left and through another set of twisted corridors. _Seriously,_ I thought, _what's with people and grabbing my wrist today?_ Soon enough, I started hearing the noises too. At first, it was just a couple of loud grunts of frustration. One time, I even heard a "Just. Die. Already!" from Yasmine. This would've been amusing if I hadn't known the severity of the situation. I hoped that Yasmine could keep fighting of whatever it was until we go there.

Then, the yells became filled with pain and desperation. Bradley and I ran faster.

"Arrgh!" My heart was pounding so much in my ears that it was a wonder that I could even hear her cry. We turned another corner, looking for a way to continue our path towards Yasmine. The school seemed to have a million dead-ends. _When did my school get so big?_

"Shut… ack… Up!" We turned again, another dead-end.

"Crap." I heard Bradley mutter under his breath. We turned around and kept going. At this rate, we were never going to find her in time. I needed to think. _We've been going in this direction for a while now,_ I told myself, _Yasmine wouldn't be fighting it in a classroom, there's no room to move around… so where…?_ It hit me at the exact same time we heard a bloodcurdling scream that reminded me of the one in my recurring nightmare. The gym!

"Bradley! The gym! They've got to be in there!" I used his grabbing my wrist to my advantage and pulled him in the direction of the gym. Bradley nodded to show his agreement, his eyebrows furrowed, and a look of pure determination settled on his face.

We barged into the gym, preparing for the worst. And what we saw, I can say for certain, we were not prepared for.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay, I'll try be a tad more consistent. Thank you so much for those amazing people who read and comment!**

 **Chapter 7 – A Life-Altering, Body-Stopping, Terrifying Experience (Or Trapped Pt 2).**

The first thing I saw was Ryland. I have no idea how he caught my attention first, he was standing stock still while Yasmine was running around frantically with an umbrella in her hand. Wait… an umbrella? In summer? I paused, _that's not an umbrella… it's a sword!_

And if the situation couldn't get any more confusing, what with Ryland seemingly frozen and Yasmine wielding some king of bronze sword, it did when I realised what Yasmine was fighting… _nothing._ She was frantically lunging and swiping at the air with her sword, while Ryland just stood there.

Before I could do anything about the, uh… _unique_ , situation, Bradley leapt into action. Before I could even register how he got over there so quickly, he was by Ryland's side. I saw him shaking the boy's shoulder out of the corner of my eye as I raced towards Yasmine.

"What's going on?" I asked frantically as a breathless Yasmine backed her way to me.

"There's a monster, Soph!" She shouted at me, she looked like she was half a second away from pulling her own hair out. "Can't you see it?! Look! It's coming right for us!"

With that, Yasmine quickly dashed to the side, leaving me stranded with a confused look on my face. Just a second after Yasmine had moved away, I felt an invisible force smash into my chest, taking my breath away. I propped myself up on my elbows and tried to see what had hit me. Obviously, there was some type of monster, like Yasmine had said. _But why can't I see it?_

I heard Yasmine yell out my name and a swish of air in front of me. On instinct, I went to roll sideways… but I couldn't. I couldn't move at all! Whatever _thing_ that was attacking Yasmine had restricted my ability to move! _That's why Ryland wasn't doing anything before,_ I realised. Thinking that had reminded me that it was not just Yasmine and I in this now horror-filled gym.

The sensation of being trapped in my own skin was very familiar to me. I experienced it at the start of my nightmares every night. But, no matter how many times I had had that dream, it did not prepare me for this terrifying feeling.

I tried to call out to my friend, but my mouth wouldn't move – it didn't even twitch. I started to panic. This was worse than the classroom – much, _much_ worse. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. I wanted so badly to call out for help, but I couldn't. The only movements I was able to handle were small, sharp breaths through my nose and the slow, drawn-out blinking of my eyes.

I watched, helpless, as Yasmine continued to struggle with the unknown, invisible force. I heard her grunting and calling out for someone, _anyone_ , to help her, but no one was coming. Bradley, who I had last saw trying to move Ryland, hadn't come yet, so I assumed he had been frozen as well. _No one can help her,_ I felt a cold tear trickle down my cheek, _we're all doomed._

Yasmine dashed and dogged, side-stepping and slashing with her umbrella. Something must've come at her from her left, because she lunged to the right. Suddenly, mid-lunge, Yasmine was flung to the side. Time slowed down as I watched, horrified, her body fly straight past me. Her back hit one of the walls with a sickening crack, her body slumping, limp, to the floor.

 _YASMINE!_ I tried to scream, _Oh, no! Yasmine, no! Please, please,_ please _don't be dead!_ The one tear had turned to many. My grey eyes overflowed with silent tears that I couldn't wipe away or try to hide.

I was crying when I started to black out. I was crying because of how trapped I felt. I was crying because my best friend was _dead_ and couldn't do anything to stop it. I was crying because my life would never be the same again… And it wasn't.

...

When I woke, I heard many people talking around me. I felt the body heat of the people on either side of me, I was resting my head on the shoulder of one of these people. I heard the rush of wind against the plane I was sitting in.

 _Wait… PLANE?!_ I barely stopped myself from shooting up, but that wouldn't've been smart. I didn't know where I was going, or who I was with. The last thing I remembered was… the monster attack! Yasmine!

 _Oh goodness, am I dead?! Is this some sort of afterlife? Does that mean Yasmine would be here too?_ That wasn't true, and I knew that. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself against it, I was alive. _But how? How am I here?_

It didn't matter that I was alive, as I was pretty certain it was not for a good reason. I needed to get out of there, and fast. But I was on a plane, in a seat between two other people. I really _hated_ being confined. How was I going to get out?

A solid plan started to formulate in my mind. It was a crazy plan, but solid none the less. The only way I was going to get away from whoever these people were, was to be quick. If I made a big enough scene about it, surely, I could convince some of the other passengers to help me. In hindsight, what I did was quite silly, but I _had_ just been through that situation in the gym. For all I knew, my best friend was dead, and most likely her brother and Ryland as well.

I shifted my head slightly on this stranger's should, my fist clenching. One swift movement was all it would take. In an instant, I twisted, lifting my head and burying my fist forcefully into the person's stomach. My eyes shot open as I heard a familiar voice yell out in pain.

"OI! Ow! What the heck was that for, Soph?!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, my few readers! So, I wrote this quite late at night where I am (it's 11:58pm and I just finished), so there's probably a lot of spelling and grammatical errors in this chapter. Very sorry about that. If you see any big mistake or anything like that, feel free to comment about it and I'll fix it. Anyway, here's the next chapter, enjoy!**  
 **P.S: sorry about all the cliff-hangers, I just enjoy writing them so much :)**

 **\- MidgleyMacbeth.**

 **Chapter 8 – A Long Trip, a New Friend and an Interesting Story… Oh, and an Amused Zombie.**

"OI! Ow! What the heck was that for, Soph?!" Yasmine groaned, clutching her stomach. I went perfectly still, how was she here? "Seriously, you'd think that after being assaulted by an ancient Greek monster, I'd be able to catch a break! But, no! My bestie decides it's prime time to offer me a good ol' punch in the stomach!"

"Wh- How- Yasmine?!" I spluttered, grabbing my friend by her shoulders to make sure that she was, in fact, there. "I thought… I thought you were dead!"

I hastily pulled her into an awkwardly-positioned hug, nuzzling my face into her head scarf. She let out a small chuckle and haltingly hugged me back. I have no words to describe the extreme happiness and relief I was experiencing at that moment. I felt my tears of happiness soak into Yasmine's scarf, but neither of us seemed to care. Our moment was ruined by someone to my left clearing their throat, reminding me of the fact that I still had no idea what was going on.

My face flushed in embarrassment as everyone in a ten-metre radius of us had twisted around in their seats and were staring at our little moment. Some of the strangers had looks of concern in their eyes, while other passengers were clearly irritated. I struggled to find an excuse, being the terrible liar that I was. Luckily, Yasmine was very skilled in that particular field.

"Sorry folks, my friend here gets these terrible nightmares. I hope you'll forgive her for making a scene." She lied fluently in her most polite tone. It was ironic really, how her lie was actually closer to the truth than she could've known. I gave our audience a small, embarrassed smile, hoping my eyes weren't red from my earlier tears.

One by one, the disgruntled passengers turned slowly until there were only two pairs of eyes trained on us. Said eyes belonging to Ryland and Bradley. Least to say, I was confused. I had seen my best friend thrown against a wall by something I couldn't even see, and yet there she was. We were all just in a very terrifying situation, and yet the three of them were sitting on either side of me as if nothing had happened. My light brown brows furrowed in frustration and confusion.

"Would someone mind telling me what the heck is going on?!" I whispered furiously, watching the others' faces for any sort of indication that I was missing something. Ryland looked slightly guilty, while the twins, Yasmine and Bradley, were both smirking.

"Seriously, what just happened? Why are we on a plane? How are we able to be on a plane? What were just attacked by? How did we get to an airport so quickly? Why isn't Yasmine dead?" I was frantic at this point but managed to keep my voice down. Bradley was shaking his head in amusement, while Yasmine flat-out laughed.

"Okay, okay. I'll explain everything." Ryland jumped in apologetically, putting his hand lightly on my shoulder, as if to calm me down. "Sorry I didn't wait for you to wake up before explaining the situation to the others. It's just… you slept for so long and we didn't really know when you were going to wake up…"

"Wait, what? How long was I asleep?" I questioned.

"Oh, around thirty-six hours, a day and a half." Yasmine answered, smiling smugly from my right.

"Getting you through the airport was a real blast, Clemson." Bradley put in sarcastically. Ryland and Yasmine cracked up at an obviously amusing memory was brought to mind. I pouted at the fact they were laughing at me, and I didn't even know what exactly happened. I didn't question it even though I was quite curious, but I found out later that they had pretended I fell asleep while waiting for 'our parents', then they had proceeded into the airport with multiple cases of my head hitting walls.

"Well whatever, just… what's going on?" I pressed on, "I'm guessing that thing that attacked Yasmine was the thing that we were running from earlier that day, Ryland? The thing that was talking to me in my head? What _was_ it?"

"Your right," Ryland replied slowly, "and I'm not sure what it was exactly, but it was ancient Greek for sure. Chiron will be able to tell you more at camp." Seeing my look, he smiled and continued, "Sophie, you, Yasmine and Bradley are demigods, or half-bloods as we like to call them. This basically means that while one of your parents is human, the other is a god. Yes, a god. A Greek god to be exact… or a Roman, depending.

"Being half-god means that you have powerful blood, and therefore some _special_ abilities. But, this also means that you are a constant target to monsters. Yeah, monsters, just like the one that attacked us back at your school. Actually, to be attacked by a monster of that power, you three must have some pretty strong auras. Anyway, since it's so dangerous for half-bloods, there are places for demigods to be safe. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter are two of these places. One camp for Greek demigods, and one for Roman demigods, respectively.

"We're headed to Camp Half-Blood now, it's in America and that's why we're on an aeroplane. Ahh… what else… Oh! We don't know who your godly parent is just yet, but it'll be revealed by the time you turn thirteen, since that's kind of a rule the gods have going. So, uh, any questions?"

 _What._ Was this a joke? It wasn't, and I could tell by the seriousness in his dark blue eyes. I swallowed. _Ok,_ I thought, _so this is happening._ It took several moments to wrap my head around the huge chunk of information Ryland had just conveyed. Actually, it was more like a complete minute of absolute silence, while I made a small list in my head of everything I had just learnt.

 _First off, I'm one of these so-called 'demigods',_ I mused, _meaning I have, what, super powers? That would be so much cooler if I hadn't just seen my best friend almost die. Speaking of which…_

"Uhm, well I do have one question," I started, Ryland nodded his head in encouragement. I pointed to Yasmine and said simply, "Why isn't she dead? I mean, its not that I'm ungrateful she's alive, but I _saw_ how she was thrown against that wall!"

"Well – " Ryland started to explain, but I cut him off as another thought occurred to me.

"Now that I think of it, you didn't even tell me what happened after Yasmine hit that wall! I blacked out and have no idea how we are even alive?!" If I thought I was confused before, then I was so much worse now.

"You see, kid," Remarked a new, unfamiliar voice that came from behind me, "That's where I came in."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay! Life was pretty busy and I've been forgetting to write and update. Luckily, the holidays are coming up, so expect quite a few new chapters!**

 **\- MidgleyMacbeth.**

 **Chapter 9 – Aria Grey, and Her Long Flight Home.**

I whipped my head around to find a tall girl, maybe two or three years older than me, resting her head and arms on the back on my seat. Her long, flowing dark oak hair framed her angular face. Her eyes were alike to mine in the fact that they were grey, but the similarities stopped there. Hers were amused and stormy, while mine held a more metallic hue. The newcomer's thin lips were drawn into a crooked grin, she was obviously having fun with this. I rolled my eyes tiredly, I didn't want to ask another question that day. Fortunately, the stranger felt like explaining.

"Yeah, you missed a lot, kid," She made her way smoothly over to the empty beside Ryland that I was now just noticing. She plopped herself into the chair and messily tied her dark hair into a loose ponytail. "My name's Aria Grey, by the way. A fellow demigod and the reason your all alive."

"I'm Sophie," I answered, "and thanks."

"Oh, no problem. Anyway, I basically just burst in there, beat the crap out the monster that was terrorising y'all and saved the day, superman style." Aria proclaimed smugly. Even if this _was_ one of the most realistic things I had heard all day, I had trouble believing this newcomer. If she could defeat that monster so easily, why couldn't we do it? My suspicions were confirmed when I heard Yasmine snort behind me.

"Yeah, right!" She laughed, throwing her head back against her seat. "Stop pulling on Soph's leg and tell her what really happened, or I'll do it myself!"

"Aww, what a spoil sport. Fine, you can tell her." She then seemed to sober up, tucking some earphones into her ears and slouching in her seat. _She seems just a bit bipolar_ , I mused, interested by my acquaintance's sudden change in tone.

I leaned back and closed my eyes while listening to Yasmine ramble on about how Aria Grey saved us. Ryland had called her for help and she arrived just in time. Somehow, she managed to disrupt the monster's influence over us and therefore release us from our frozen prisons. Amazingly, Yasmine was only just conscious enough to comprehend what was happening. I was quite shocked to learn that the monster had simply fled afterwards. _Why would a being of such power run from only one demigod?_ I inquired, sneakily stealing curious looks at Aria Grey, _who_ are _you?_

As if she could feel my eyes on her, she turned. Her sharp, intimidating eyes met mine in a confronting stare. I got the feeling that she knew what I was thinking, and she seemed to be daring me to ask. But at the same time, it was like she didn't even know the answer herself. Yasmine had moved on from telling me her story and had long since fallen asleep by the time I finally questioned the newcomer.

"So…" I started slowly, gaining Aria Grey's attention, "How, exactly, did you get that thing to just…" I struggled to find the right words for a moment. "… run away?"

"The thing is," She responds, pausing slightly as if to check if Yasmine was awake, "it wasn't actually me."

"What?!" I blurted, before quickly being hushed by Aria. She pointed to Yasmine and placed a finger on her lips. I continued in a softer tone, "Then what actually happened, if it didn't leave because of you?"

"I don't know for sure, but I think it had something to do with her," Aria nodded towards my sleeping friend. "You see, by the time I got there – the monster you encountered was long gone. And your friend over here… well she had some sort of yellow, glowing light coming from her. All I did once I got there was break the spell it had placed the three of you under and gave Yasmine some ambrosia."

"Ambrosia?" I questioned, was this some type of drug? It sounded like it.

"The food of the gods. If taken in small portions, it can heal demigods of various wounds. But if we have too much of it… well…" She swiped the side of her finger from the left side of her neck to the right, I made a mental note to only ever eat ambrosia if it was extremely necessary. With a small smile, Aria Grey added, "It tastes different to everyone. It normally reminds demigods of somewhere, or someone, they love."

"What does it taste like to you?" I asked, instantly regretting it. _Sophie,_ I scolded myself, looking down at my hands, _stop being so nosy!_ I was about to tell her that she didn't need to respond, but I was interrupted by the new acquaintance.

"To me, it tastes like lemonade. Cold, fresh lemonade." Aria puts it simply, but I could tell there was much more to the lemonade then she was letting on. I decided to leave it; I had already been too nosy. I cleared my throat, trying hard not to make the atmosphere awkward.

"So, anyway, how _did_ you un-freeze us?" I changed the subject, shifting around in my chair uncomfortably – I had been seated for too long. She seemed glad to talk about something that didn't involve herself.

"Just a little Camp remedy that the Apollo and Hephaestus kids whipped up, and of course us children of Athena helped." She shrugged, her eyes darting down to Yasmine when she said 'Apollo'. She looked back to me and grinned. "Speaking of godly parents, have you got any clue who yours might be? You know some Greek mythology, right?"

"I know a bit," I answered her last question with a half-truth. In actual fact, I knew a lot more than 'a bit', I had researched it after seeing those Greek-looking pillars in my dream about a month into having that nightmare. I didn't tell her this, it just didn't seem like something that she should know. "And as to who my godly parent is, I have no idea. I don't even know if the god is my mum, or my dad!"

"What do you mean?" Aria looked confused, was this not a common occurrence?

"Well, unlike Yasmine and Bradley, I grew up with two parents. So, one of them must be a step-parent or something, right?" I responded.

"Probably," She nodded, looking confident, "Well, you won't have to wait for long. Ryland told you about the thirteen-year rule, right?" I nodded, remembering how Ryland said that all demigods are claimed by their parent, by the time they are thirteen years old. My birthday was on the 28th of April, and today was the 20th of February. Meaning that, unless some god decided to step in earlier, I would be claimed in a little over two months.

However, at that moment, I had absolutely no idea just how wrong I was.


	10. Chapter 10

**Slightly longer chapter to make up for my absence!**

 **Chapter 10 – Let's go.**

I don't remember falling asleep in the taxi on the way to Camp or why I was so tired, but I remember waking up. I also remember why I woke up. I had forgotten about my dreams. But, I was certainly reminded of them when I woke up crying and sweating in the front seat of the taxi.

Because of the dangers of a large group of demigods travelling together, the group had to split up. Bradley and Aria took the first taxi we came across, about five minutes before Yasmine, Ryland and I waved down ours. Luckily, I had 'called shotgun', as the Americans like to say, and the others could not witness the silent tears streaming down my face. Noticing the weird looks the mortal driver was giving me, I quickly wiped away my tears and put on a bright smile. Hopefully, my eyes weren't red or puffy. The driver gave a hesitant shrug and tucked his earphones back into his ears.

"So, I don't get it. How exactly are you half-goat?" I heard Yasmine exclaim in the backseat. _'half-goat'?_ I waited for her to continue. "Is your dad, like, a goat and your mum a human? Or is it the other way around?"

"U-uh, it's nothing like that!" Ryland responded in a defensive voice. "We're a species, not some rare marvel!" _What the heck are they talking about?_ I was quite confused, to say the least. Honestly, I was getting very tired of not knowing what was going on. _Great,_ I rolled my eyes as I thought, _I'm getting frustrated and tired not even a minute after waking up._

"Well, if you're a species, you must have evolved from something. Like how humans evolved from monkeys." Yasmine countered. Even though she had followed the Muslim religion, Yasmine liked to constantly reference science. I cleared my throat, ready to speak.

"Apes," I corrected her in a somewhat bored tone. I glanced behind me to see their confused and surprised expressions. "We evolved from apes."

"Well, same difference." Yasmine grinned, she must've been happy I was awake. I gave her an apprehensive look over my shoulder, silently telling her to explain what was going on. Much to my relief, she understood my gesture and saved me the trouble of asking verbally, "Ryland here is a 'satyr', or whatever. Satyrs are basically half-goat, half-human creatures from Greek mythology. Apparently, they help around Camp."

I nodded slowly. After being told everything I was told yesterday, smaller things like this were easy to digest. I was still sceptical though, as anyone would be. I had been seeing Ryland around school for a month or so now, so if he was really a satyr, wouldn't I have noticed something? I narrowed my eyes at him and was quite surprised when he seemed to get the message.

"You wouldn't have seen it before because of the mist, it provides mortals with an illusion that keeps them away from our world. Demigods can be affected by it as well, if they're not concentrating." To prove his point, Ryland reached down and pulled up one of the legs of his jeans. At first, all I saw was a normal leg. When I looked closer, however, my vision seemed to clear and I saw a goat leg – reddish fur, and everything.

"Oh." I stated, far beyond surprise at this point, "Okay."

"Sophie!" Yasmine exclaimed indignantly, "How could you be so calm about this? He's been a _satyr_ behind our backs this whole time! Aren't at least a little bit shocked?" Her questioning look was almost frantic, her mouth hanging open.

I grinned, covering my mouth a bit in an attempt to hide my amusement. The taxi suddenly went over a bump, causing us all to jump in our seatbelts. Ryland let out a very strange noise, one in which could only be described as a bleat of surprise. Yasmine, already trying to wrap her head around the fact that he wasn't exactly human, gasped at the noise. She blushed, embarrassed.

Yasmine's now reddened cheeks, her wide mouth and eyes pushed me over the edge and I let out the laughter I had been desperately holding in.

"That'll be ten bucks." The taxi driver demands as the car comes to a halt. I wasn't sure on how much ten dollars really was in comparison to Australian dollars, but I didn't complain when Ryland handed him the money. My mind was focused on the camp. While I was extremely excited to see my new home, something didn't feel right. I had a weird feeling about this place. Or rather, a weird feeling about _me_ in this place. I just couldn't seem to shake the feeling that, no matter how many times Ryland insisted I would, I wouldn't fit in.

 _Snap out of it, Sophie,_ I scolded myself, squeezing my eyes shut and shaking my head. _You're just used to being different at school, but this place is special. Everyone here is different, so you'll be fine!_ I tried hard to convince myself of this, ignoring the weird feeling and putting on a confident smile with one last shake of my head. It's funny, really. How I thought that shaking my head could injure my thoughts.

Yasmine was buzzing with excitement, her ADHD hyperactive as she jumped from one foot to the other in an almost feverish manner. We started the trek to Camp Half-Blood, our new home. Ryland explained that being near the barrier would cause the taxi driver major confusion, so we had to walk the rest of the way. Neither me nor Yasmine had a problem with this, our eagerness to get to camp propelling us forward.

Ryland told us stories of great heroes and adventures as we walked steadily up the hill, Yasmine 'oh'-ing and 'ah'-ing where necessary. The name 'Percy Jackson' came up a lot. _I wonder if we'll meet him_ , I wondered distractedly. Yasmine and Ryland were walking maybe ten metres to my left and since I was walking slightly faster than them, I could only just see them out of the corner of my eye. I wasn't paying attention to the conversation. I just couldn't. With every step I took, dread gripped my stomach tighter. My fingers were anxiously tangling with and pulling each other behind my back. Something was wrong. _I shouldn't be here_ , I gulped. _I really shouldn't be here_.

I whipped around to tell the others that something was bugging me, only to realise that their chattering had stopped. Instead, they stood silently at the top of this hill. Yasmine looked down at a view I could not yet see with a look of pure wonder and excitement. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were alight and sparkling. Ryland looked at her smugly, before beckoning for me to come over and look myself. I slowly approached my friends and peeked down at whatever had Yasmine so wonderous.

At first, I saw just an ordinary strawberry field, but I remembered what Ryland said earlier about the mist. I squinted, trying hard to see beneath the disguise. And I saw a field. A regular, strawberry-covered field. I shook my head and narrowed my eyes even more, concentrating as hard as I could. My head started to pound, but still, I persisted. Finally, slowly but surely, the field started to fade.

First, I saw a large, two-storied, wooden house with a grumpy looking man sitting on the porch. Then, a volleyball court, where some teens were playing and laughing. Then, a grand pavilion, with Greek columns and décor. Then, an arena, and an amphitheatre, and a lake, and a patch of strawberries. I gasped with amazement. The sight of Camp Half-Blood was beautiful, it was so big and so, so _free_. I instantly understood the appeal. With just one look of this place, the dread that I felt seemed only an afterthought.

Ryland had already trotted down the hill, leaving Yasmine and I to stare for a bit longer. After a minute, I turned to Yasmine with a grin

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's –" But suddenly, a thunderous roar sounded from behind us. The trees shook, and the ground rumbled as we slowly turned to face the most monstrous thing I had ever seen.

There before us, fuming and ready to attack, was what a giant lion. Except, it wasn't any normal lion, a goat's head and neck sprouted from its back, and instead of a tail, there was a snake. All six eyes of the beast were flaming red and full of rage. I trembled while I squeakily finished,

"-go…"


End file.
